Application of the ICRP's New Respiratory Tract Model to an Underground Uranium Mine

The ICRP's previous models of respiratory tract dosimetry for inhalation of radon progeny parameterised the effective dose in terms of the median size of aerosol particles with radon progeny attached to them, and the so-called unattached fraction of potential alpha energy. In principle, the new ICRP respiratory tract model allows the radiation dose to be derived as a continuous function of the radon progeny particle size, over the complete size range from about 0.5 to 1000 nm. This paper compares the dose conversion factors derived by applying the old and new respiratory tract models to new size distribution data obtained from an operational underground uranium mine